The recent UN Biodiversity Conference was held under the theme “Peace with Nature.” This 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD/CoP-16) attracted an unprecedented 23,000+ delegates attending official negotiations and side events inside the security perimeter of the “Blue Zone,” while the public “Green Zone” drew approximately 40,000 visitors each day. The Center for Large Landscape Conservation was honored to send four team members to participate at the conference in Cali, Colombia to further strengthen efforts for connectivity conservation around the world.  

It is important to point out that negotiations did not deliver all the results that were hoped for, and governments were unable to adopt all decisions before many delegates had to depart for home, as reported by The Guardian in ‘Cop16 ends in disarray and indecision despite biodiversity breakthroughs’. Nonetheless, the negotiations and related events still demonstrated a strong sense of urgency, dedication, and growing actions across society and among the 196 country Parties to the Convention to implement its objectives and halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030.

Of great significance, CoP-16 focused on how countries can meet their commitments to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in 2022. Ecological connectivity is explicitly included in Goal A and Targets 2, 3, and 12 of the KMGBF as a key element for achieving the aims of the Convention. Following our Action Plan for 2030, the Center is helping drive actions around the world to accelerate progress across the Framework.

In the latest development since departing Cali, the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat has announced that resumed sessions of CoP-16 will be held on 25-27 February 2025 in Rome, Italy, with the anticipation of adopting all pending decisions. 

Our Participation 

The Center, represented by Gary Tabor, Deb Davidson, Aaron Laur, and Fernanda Teixeira, contributed leadership throughout the conference to advance the science, policy, and practice of connectivity, landscape, and seascape conservation with numerous presentations, matchmaking to pursue new projects with countries, and collaborative efforts. Over the course of more than two weeks, CoP-16 attendees became well acquainted with the generosity of the Colombian hosts, the interest and kindness of Cali residents, the natural beauty of the country, and the energy and endurance required to make it to and through such a large and lively conference.  

With partners, such as the new Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity, the Center helped further advance understanding and inspiring activities that were prominent in 10+ official side events and numerous presentations covering diverse topics and geographies such as mammal migration in Central Asia, marine corridors in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and flyways for birds around the world. Together, the growing connectivity conservation community was well-represented in Cali and emphasized the importance of “well-connected” protected and conserved areas as part of 30×30 efforts, as well as promoting diverse solutions across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. 

This international gathering represented the third consecutive CBD/CoP that the Center attended as an accredited NGO Observer since 2018. By utilizing this official status to participate in the Convention, our focus continues to be on elevating understanding of individual and collaborative actions for connectivity conservation to stimulate collaboration across sectors for conserving biological diversity.  

Progress Made in Cali 

With the loss of biodiversity continuing unabated, Parties to the Convention worked through an ambitious agenda in Cali to meet the urgency of the issue at hand. This included reviewing progress toward achieving the KMGBF, demonstrating alignment in National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plans (NBSAPs), further developing the KMGBF monitoring framework—with multiple indicators for connectivity—and advancing mobilization of resources.  

Some of the highlights include: 

• At least 20 countries and the European Union having submitted revised or updated NBSAPs that address connectivity; 

• Release of the Protected Planet Report 2024, assessing the global status of protected and conserved areas, with Chapter 6 addressing the “well-connected” element of KMGBF Target 3 focused on achieving 30×30; and 

• Adoption of a decision on plant conservation efforts to align with the KMGBF monitoring framework, with an Annex of voluntary complementary actions with indications of how connectivity conservation can be applied. 

In parallel, hundreds of side events drove home how countries can meet their commitments under the KMGBF. Notably, the  official event on ecological connectivity led by the Center featured presenters from five countries and five collaborative efforts, and our contributions to events about avoiding and mitigating the impacts of linear infrastructure emphasized the great diversity of related initiatives, projects, and activities already underway that are driving implementation of the KMGBF around the world.

Why Does This Matter? 

The take-home message from CBD/CoP-16 is that governments, institutions, and communities around the world are ramping up activities to match commitments under the KMGBF. Although robust financial resources and technical capacities need to urgently improve, cooperation is growing and enabling whole-of-society approaches that are mainstreaming biodiversity within and across sectors at national and subnational levels. This includes the numerous examples of innovative coordination happening among conventions, ministries, agencies, and organizations taking more comprehensive approaches to halt environmental degradation, save biodiversity, and increase resilience to climate change.  

With landscape, seascape, and ecological connectivity conservation increasingly recognized and applied as a key cross-cutting solution, its incorporation into relevant policies, strategies, and plans is supporting alignment of programs, initiatives, projects, and activities around the world.  

What’s Next?

Looking toward CBD/CoP-17 now scheduled for the last quarter of 2026 in Yerevan, Armenia, the Center will continue its leadership engaging in discussions and planning across its networks of experts and institutions to inspire and take actions that support lasting connectivity conservation gains on the ground. 

To learn more, the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group has published a detailed news post with more information about CBD/CoP-16 developments, official outcomes, and side events. 

Grupo MaViChi playing the public “Green Zone” during the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia:

_{Top photo: A view of the Cali River from the public “Green Zone” and the Iglesia La Ermita Church constructed from 1930-1948 in the background – CLLC/Aaron Laur}

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Even as unprecedented levels of public funds have been directed towards the restoration, stewardship, and conservation of our lands and waters in recent years, the influx of project delivery funding has only served to underscore a gap that needs to be filled: the on-the-ground capacity to get the work done. The Catalyst Fund aims to build capacity and help local Landscape Partnerships contribute toward achieving national conservation goals. 

Catalyst Fund: an innovative and critical funding source

The Network for Landscape Conservation launched the Catalyst Fund Program in 2019 to accelerate the pace and practice of collaborative landscape conservation and stewardship across the United States. The Catalyst Fund couples financial support through a competitive grant process with an in-depth Peer Learning and capacity building experience. The CF focuses on strengthening the collaborative capacity of place-based, community-grounded Landscape Partnerships. These investments are intended to better position Partnerships to achieve long-term conservation and stewardship success, building in landscapes across the country the enduring collaborative infrastructure and social capital needed to address systems-level challenges like the biodiversity, climate change, and environmental injustice crises. A portion of the Fund is dedicated to supporting Indigenous leadership in landscape conservation and stewardship.

With this its sixth annual grant cycle, the Catalyst Fund has supported 85 Landscape Partnerships from throughout the United States, totaling more than $2 million in support. The Catalyst Fund seeks to boost Partnerships that demonstrate a genuinely collaborative approach to protecting the landscapes they call home. These Partnerships are working on a broad range of issues and priorities that are relevant to their home landscapes,  ranging from climate resilience, wildlife corridor protection, landscape connectivity, watershed enhancement and management, cultural revitalization, Indigenous co-stewardship, forest health, and more. 

Highlight: Peer Learning commitment and Annual Retreat

Collaborative landscape conservation and stewardship is an emerging practice, and practitioners often feel as if they must wrestle with figuring out the what and how of this work on their own. Recognizing this, the Catalyst Fund has embraced an emphasis on peer learning. NLC supports a peer learning cohort for grantees in each grant cycle, providing regular networking and exchange/learning opportunities for the grantees. Through monthly virtual meetings and an in-person annual retreat, the cohorts connect with one another to share support, insight, knowledge, exploration, and inspiration–all of which strengthens practitioner capacity and confidence to carry out the complex, challenging, and essential work of building and stewarding collaboration for landscape outcomes.  

2024 Grant Awards! 

Every year, the Network receives submissions from across the United States–all of which reflect inspiring work aimed at shifting trajectories within landscapes in response to the climate and biodiversity crises and the legacies of environmental injustice.

Check out the 2024 Catalyst Fund Grant Awards Here

As the Network reflects on this grant cycle—and indeed on the last six years of grantmaking and capacity-building within the Catalyst Fund—it seems only clearer  that the place-based, community-grounded Landscape Partnerships that apply to the Catalyst Fund are essential vehicles for delivering the holistic conservation, stewardship, and restoration successes needed to respond to the interwoven biodiversity, climate, and environmental injustice crises. As NLC Director Jon Peterson notes, 

“We continue to feel that collaborative capacity investments are a critical, foundational–and too often missing–element. Such investments open the aperture of opportunity and potential: By supporting the core functions of bringing people together across interest, perspective, and cultures, and enabling effective collaboration over time, collaborative capacity creates the space to develop and bring forward the bold, innovative, and previously unimagined (or perhaps even previously unimaginable) projects that are capable of addressing complex, pressing challenges. In short, this is how we bring forward systems-level solutions to the systems-level challenges we face.”

The Network for Landscape Conservation is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. Generous support for the Catalyst Fund is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

^{Top photo: Tent Rocks, Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico. Credit: Unsplash}

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What does wildlife know of human-made borders? Often, not much; animals generally navigate landscapes without regard for county, state, or country lines—unless impacted by factors such as hunting pressure or habitat loss. Human-made lines on a map don’t necessarily affect wildlife. But what about roads and fences—physical barriers that interrupt their paths? In the case of the endangered Sonoran pronghorn, these barriers are stark realities that threaten their long-term survival. 

The Sonoran pronghorn, a subspecies of the American pronghorn and the fastest land mammal in North America, faces numerous challenges. Known as the “desert ghost” for its elusive and skittish behavior, this species is smaller and lighter in color compared to its more common relative, uniquely adapted to thrive in the arid conditions of the Sonoran Desert. Spanning 120,000 square miles across southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora, the Sonoran Desert is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States, featuring a diverse range of flora and fauna adapted to its hot, arid climate.

Connectivity is the Key to a Full Population Rebound

The Sonoran Pronghorn was first listed as endangered in 1967, and then the Arizona population suffered a severe decline due to a drought in 2002 that wiped out 80% of collared pronghorns, reducing their numbers to just about two dozen individuals. The lack of ecological connectivity between herds—the inability of pronghorns to move freely across the landscape to find food, water, and mates—exacerbated this decline. Individual pronghorns were not able to adequately move in search of water and forage, which contributed to the severe population drop. Now, efforts to enhance connectivity and ensure populations are connected are more crucial than ever.

Restricted to the southwestern corner of Arizona and northwestern Sonora, Sonoran pronghorns exhibit nomadic behavior, moving in response to rainfall and forage availability. In the US, more attention has been paid to the challenges faced by the Arizona subpopulations, such as climate change, habitat fragmentation, and physical barriers like roads, fences, and the border wall. In Mexico, the subpopulations face additional unique challenges, including a lack of protected areas and increased pressures from hunting.

The presence of the US-Mexico border wall exacerbates these challenges, further isolating the populations on both sides of the border. The wall disrupts traditional migration routes, impedes gene flow, and increases the difficulty of managing the multiple populations. Gene flow is crucial for maintaining genetic diversity and preventing inbreeding, which can lead to reduced fitness, increased susceptibility to diseases, and other negative consequences. This physical barrier complicates efforts to ensure ecological connectivity, making a full species approach all the more critical.

Today, the remaining and reintroduced Sonoran pronghorn herds exist in isolated management units, or designated areas where wildlife populations are monitored and managed to ensure their survival and growth. In Mexico, there are two management units with approximately 600 individuals. In Arizona, three management units host around 525 individuals.

This population growth is a result of significant conservation measures driven by the Sonoran pronghorn recovery team that involves multiple individuals and agencies, including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), researchers, and various federal, state, and nonprofit organizations. Their efforts include a captive breeding program, yearly relocation of individuals to supplement herds, habitat restoration, provision of a water supply, and ongoing monitoring and management. While these investments have led to some population rebound, the Sonoran pronghorn’s recovery is imperiled if the isolated populations are not connected so that they are able to interbreed and shift their ranges in response to climate change, especially as drought events continue to worsen.

Workshop Attendees Strategize for the Sonoran Pronghorn’s Future

The need for increased connectivity of these isolated subpopulations is recognized and emphasized in the Sonoran pronghorn’s recovery plan. The Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) is working with federal and state wildlife agencies to advise on strategies to improve habitat connectivity and mitigate human disturbances that impact pronghorn behavior and habitat use.

In March 2024, with support from the National Park Service and USFWS, CLLC organized the Sonoran Pronghorn Connectivity Workshop in Ajo, Arizona, at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. The workshop was led by CLLC’s Conservation Science Specialist Jamie Faselt along with CLLC’s Conservation Research Advisor Dr. Paul Beier. It sought to engage rightsholders and interested parties (e.g., government organizations, NGOs, Tribal communities) in a forward-thinking project to advance the Sonoran pronghorn’s long-term recovery and eventual delisting from the Endangered Species List.

Workshop participants from diverse US- and Mexico-based engaged in meaningful discussions about pronghorn habitat areas, movement barriers, and climate impacts. They mapped known movement pathways, highlighting the need to address barriers that obstruct pronghorn movement, such as highways and fences. The workshop also underscored the importance of data sharing, constituent engagement, and international cooperation.

“Conducting multi-country connectivity planning poses unique challenges, such as differences in available data types,” explained workshop leader Faselt. However, there was widespread acknowledgment at the workshop that broadening the project scope to the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region, including subpopulations in Sonora, is essential to address the need to reconnect the isolated populations of the pronghorn.

UNESCO Biosphere regions are designated areas with exceptional biodiversity, natural, and cultural resources and can be a great tool in managing populations of species that cross jurisdictional boundaries to survive. The biosphere designation provides a framework for communities and land managers to collaborate on preserving the unique benefits a biosphere region holds.

“Nature knows no borders, and the Sonoran pronghorn is no exception,” added Faselt. “By working together, we bolster our chances of success in saving this vital species.”

While the workshop underscored the importance of a full species approach across the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region, data limitations and cross-border challenges required the project to begin with an Arizona-focused analysis. This first phase lays the groundwork for expanding into Mexico as additional partners and datasets are brought into the effort. 

Looking Ahead: Creating a Plan for Success – UPDATED December 2025

Building on the insights gathered during the workshop, Faselt completed an analysis that identified potential movement pathways between Sonoran pronghorn subpopulations and recommended locations where wildlife crossings would be most effective. The work drew on four main sources of information: habitat connectivity models, pronghorn movement behavior along highways, expert opinion from the workshop, and patterns of past mortalities. The connectivity models helped identify natural routes that the pronghorn are most likely to use when moving across the landscape based on habitat quality and barriers. 

The resulting recommendations outline a set of crossing structure options and a ranked list of priority locations that together would create a fully connected network for Sonoran pronghorn within Arizona. In addition to identifying where crossings are most needed, the recommendations also describe strategies for encouraging pronghorn to use these structures once built, such as placing attractants like water or forage in strategic locations and reducing nearby disturbances to help animals safely approach and learn new routes. This first phase focused on Arizona and highlights a small number of sites where targeted mitigation would have the greatest impact. 

Although the workshop brought together 15 organizations, expanding participation, especially with partners in Sonora, will be important for future binational work.  This approach could be expanded into Mexico to address the full range of the species. 

The Sonoran Pronghorn Connectivity Project demonstrates how combining scientific analysis with local knowledge and collaboration can clarify complex conservation needs. By identifying where conservation action will be most effective and by working across jurisdictions and borders, we can begin building a more connected and resilient future for the Sonoran pronghorn.  

_{Top photo: Sonoran pronghorn – USFWS. All other photos by CLLC/Jamie Faselt unless otherwise indicated.}

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Stretching from the rolling Appalachian Mountains to the rugged Atlantic coastline, the landscapes of Northeastern North America feature bustling population centers, recreational havens and productive farms and timberlands as well as vast forests, abundant freshwater and impressive biodiversity. These are some of the most socio-ecologically complex landscapes in the world, increasingly recognized as critical for ecological integrity and climate adaptation at the continental and even global scale.

The Indigenous peoples who have lived here since time immemorial refer to this region as “Turtle Island” after a shared creation story. On maps it appears divided by the national border between the United States and Canada. Yet as Indigenous peoples remind us, these lands and waters are healthiest when we define them not by built barriers and political borders but by ecological connectivity—the unimpeded movement of species and flow of natural processes that sustains life on Earth. Northeastern North America/Turtle Island is more accurately, and more importantly, an interconnected network of mountains, forests, rivers and wetlands that transcends our human-made boundaries.

With this view in mind, and at a time when we find ourselves increasingly imperiled by biodiversity loss, climate change and political divisions, the Staying Connected Initiative (SCI) is doubling down on efforts to conserve and restore connected land and waterscapes in this cross-border region to ensure a livable, healthy future for all.

Co-convened by SCI partners the Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF) and Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) on behalf of the Staying Connected Initiative partnership, the Northeastern North America / Turtle Island Landscape Connectivity Summit (June 11-13, 2024) marked a watershed moment for connectivity conservation efforts in this region.

More than 170 individuals gathered in Montreal / Tiohtià:ke, Quebec, Canada, the unceded territory of the Mohawk Nation / Kanien’kehá:ka, for this first-ever cross-boundary gathering focused on advancing landscape connectivity conservation and restoration in the five eastern-most Canadian provinces, seven northeastern-most U.S. states, and Indigenous territories of the region. Attendees included a diverse mix of representatives from provincial, state, and federal agencies; Indigenous groups; non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, and public and private funders.

Opening and closing ceremonies, featuring Mohawk elder Sedalia Kawennotas and dancers Owen Mayo and Kwena Bellemare-Boivin, grounded the event in place and reminded all present that effective and equitable conservation and restoration is only possible through genuine partnership with the original inhabitants and stewards of this place.

Remarks from government officials underscored renewed commitment from elected leaders. Representatives from the Biden and Trudeau administrations expressed resolve to further forefront landscape connectivity in national efforts to reach “30×30”—a global effort to protect and connect 30% of the planet by 2030—while states and provinces voiced support for the principles of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers’ (NEGECP) Resolution 40-3 on ecological connectivity, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation, adopted in 2016.

Headline speakers included:

• Steven Guilbeault, Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada (recorded)
• Brenda Mallory, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality (recorded) 
• Benoit Charette, Minister for Biodiversity, Wildlife, and Parks, Quebec Ministry of the Environment, Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife, and Parks (recorded)
• Julie Moore, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources

View Full Summit Program

Connectivity conservation is a wide-ranging topic with many facets. The Summit wove together diverse themes such as connectivity and climate science; Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing (weaving Indigenous knowledge and western science); linear infrastructure; land use; and policy and funding. Through plenary presentations and panels, as well as breakout discussion groups, participants traded insights based on their expertise and shared thoughts on how to work across borders and communities.

Particularly exciting for many participants was the opportunity to connect local projects, programs and initiatives to global conservation priorities (i.e., the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and other international policy mandates) and vice versa. Representatives from globally focused entities (e.g., the International Union for Conservation of Nature) brought to bear illuminating examples of large landscape conservation success and lessons learned from far afield.

Perhaps most importantly, the Summit afforded all an opportunity to broaden and strengthen relationships. Many in this field abide by the mantra of “connecting people to connect landscapes.” Whether in the hallways and elevators, over lunch, or around town, some of the Summit’s most valuable conversations surely took place outside the formal program.

In fact, one of the most dynamic parts of the week was a “Connectivity Films” evening hosted by the Québec Ecological Corridors Initiative. Attendees were treated to short films from around the region, all of which demonstrated the profound importance of communicating conservation work in an accessible way to the public.

As the Summit wrapped up, handshakes and hugs preceded pledges to stay in close contact and to increase coordination and collaboration through the Staying Connected Initiative and other partnerships. On a practical level, outcomes from the Summit will contribute towards the development of a high-level, regional connectivity “road map” that identifies key opportunities, strategies, and potential actions by each sector to connect and restore ecological connectivity across Northeastern North America / Turtle Island.

Less tangibly, but perhaps just as importantly, all can agree that the Summit provided inspiration to return to the desk, the field, or the classroom more resolved to sustain and restore ecologically and culturally well-connected landscapes for a healthy and resilient future.

Check out some photos from the Summit:

_{All slideshow photos courtesy of Audrey Huffman
Top photo: Montreal from Mont Royal – courtesy of G. Oppler/Center for Large Landscape Conservation}

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Back in 2013, conservation journalist Ben Goldfarb toured the Highway 93 wildlife crossings on the Flathead Reservation with crossings expert Marcel Huijser, Center road ecologist Kylie Paul, and others. 

“As the sun set, we climbed atop an overpass and watched traffic flow beneath us, a powerful experience that both inspired and fascinated me. We do so much on this planet to make animals’ lives harder and more dangerous, often with our roads — yet here was this multimillion dollar piece of infrastructure, built thanks to the leadership and support of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, that humans had created to make things easier and safer for wildlife. What could be more beautiful than that?” 

Little did he know that that day in Montana would send him on a journey to learn more about this world of wildlife crossings, culminating in his literary feat, CROSSINGS: How Road Ecology Is Shaping The Future of Our Planet. Roads are an omnipresent form of travel, but most humans neglect to recognize them as an obstruction to nature’s natural processes as they bisect habitats and fragment landscapes.

But some are paying attention, and a few are dedicating their life’s work to understanding and dissecting the relationship between infrastructure and nature. One such individual is Ben Goldfarb, who examines the destructive effects of the 40 million miles of roadways that crisscross the earth and uproot ecosystems that took eons to establish. Listed as one of the best books of 2023 by the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Smithsonian, CROSSINGS paints a broad brush stroke upon this pervasive issue that harms wildlife populations and ultimately, us. 

Ben conducted an impressive amount and array of research for the book, including riding a bike slowly through Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, logging dead deer and other animals for a citizen-science project. He says he was thrilled to learn about the worldwide diversity of wildlife crossings, describing in the book many examples from several continents, and discovering that the movement to reconnect habitats is truly global. “The U.S. is undoubtedly a road ecology leader, but it has plenty to learn from other nations, too,” says Goldfarb.

Lucky for Western Montana folks, Goldfarb is embarking on a six-stop book tour within the state in June 2024 to spread awareness of this pressing issue. Each event will include a reading and a Q&A with Ben and experts from the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and partners. The Center, along with Yellowstone Safe Passages and Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, is proud to sponsor Goldfarb’s Montana pilgrimage. 

Ecological connectivity, the degree to which a landscape facilitates or restricts organisms’ movement or exchange, is gaining traction within the collective consciousness and government policies as an important tool for counteracting climate change, protecting wildlife, and bolstering our ecosystems. Within the U.S., there is a growing momentum for wildlife crossings, a tool for increasing connectivity while improving road safety, with the Federal Highway Administration’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program and state-specific legislation that provides funding mechanisms for such types of infrastructure. As it stands today, Montana is poised for potential wildlife crossings on U.S. Highway 191 and an initiative to increase wildlife and motorist safety on U.S. Highway 89, just outside Yellowstone National Park. 

When asked what he hopes people will take away from reading CROSSINGS, Goldfarb replies:

“I hope this book helps people realize just how much we can all do to help wildlife. We can change our own driving habits, for example by driving more slowly and carefully, and less frequently at night. We can become volunteer road ecologists ourselves, by helping to collect the roadkill data that informs future wildlife crossings. And, most importantly, we can publicly support infrastructural fixes like wildlife crossings and fencing, and encourage our elected officials and agencies to build more of them. In a sense, we all contribute to conflicts between roads and wildlife — I’ve hit animals myself. But we’re all part of the solution, too.”

See the locations and dates listed here to attend one of Ben Goldfarb’s highly anticipated readings and get involved!

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Light pollution impacts migrating birds in a variety of ways. It increases the likelihood of deadly collisions with lit buildings and other forms of infrastructure, such as bridges or power lines. It also affects the ability of birds to accurately locate stopover sites—places to rest and find food—during seasonal migrations. Most migratory birds are incredibly sensitive to light and may become disoriented, flying towards it whether it is artificial or not.

Furthermore, many bird species’ instinct to migrate is affected by temperature shifts, daylight availability, and wind patterns. With a changing climate, wind patterns and temperatures are likely to shift as well, making it even more important to reduce light pollution.

“Many wildlife species rely on connected habitat for their migrations, from pronghorn to salmon to pelicans,” says Zack Wurtzebach, U.S. Program Director for the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. “While we often think about connectivity on land and water, it’s also so important to consider ‘aeroconservation’ actions that address threats to species movement in the air. This goes hand in hand with ensuring a connected network of land and water habitat patches birds can use as stopover sites during their long journeys.”

What can I do about light pollution? 

Turning off or dimming lights is the easiest way to reduce the impacts of light pollution on birds during the migration season. When this isn’t an option, changing the color and intensity of your outdoor lighting can also reduce impacts. The following are some additional and basic methods to reduce light pollution, particularly during migration season when the skies are filled with migrating birds:

• At night, be sure to only use lights when needed.
• Be targeted with your lighting, using shields at the top of your light or ensuring you are aiming your lighting downward.
• Minimize the brightness of lighting when you must use it, and be mindful of the surfaces below your light fixtures, as some are more reflective than others.
• Use motion detectors or light timers when possible, whether for dimming or whether they are on at all.
• Use warmer colored lighting, or short wavelength lighting, as bright, blue-toned lighting is especially disruptive for wildlife.

What are communities doing to help?

There are many examples of effective light pollution management across the United States. The Audubon society has developed a program called Lights Out, where “[t]he strategy is simple: by convincing building owners and managers to turn off excess lighting during the months migrating birds are flying overhead, we help to provide them safe passage between their nesting and wintering grounds.”

The US Fish and Wildlife Service oversees a similar program, the Urban Bird Treaty, in which cities across the country engage in public-private partnerships aimed at conserving birds and their habitat through collaboration with local communities on conservation, science, education and recreational activities aimed at making urban areas more healthy and bird-friendly.

Check out these programs to see if your community is engaged and get involved yourself! Switch out your outdoor light bulbs, put the lights on motion timers, and minimize the lighting your dwellings use. And during this year’s busy bird migration season, check out these live bird migration maps by Birdcast and be on the lookout for the migrating species near you.

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The Center for Large Landscape Conservation is proud to be the recipient of the North American Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE-NA) 2024 Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award. This honor recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of applied landscape ecology.

Landscape ecology is an interdisciplinary science broadly concerned with the study, management, planning and design of landscapes. In the face of significant transformation of natural landscapes by human communities and climate change, its importance is only growing. 

The award was accepted on behalf of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation by U.S. Program Director Zachary Wurtzebach on April 4, 2024, at the IALE-NA annual meeting in Oklahoma City. 

In a press release announcing the award, IALE-NA said: “The Center of Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) has been at leading edge of applying landscape ecology principles and practice towards the conservation of large landscapes in the USA, across North America, and globally… CLLC’s work has been fundamental to the development and maintenance of infrastructure needed for the connectivity of landscapes to facilitate conservation actions that quickly scale for maximum conservation effect.” 

The North American Regional Chapter of IALE is a professional and scientific organization dedicated to the science and practice of landscape ecology throughout North America. It is the largest of the more than two dozen national and regional chapters under their parent organization, the International Association for Landscape Ecology.   

“We believe that landscapes and seascapes are the operational units of conservation. Landscapes are the spaces where people, place and species interact,” said Center for Large Landscape Conservation founder and CEO Gary Tabor. “If we are to protect nature in a time of climate change and the livelihoods of people who depend on nature, we must pursue landscape-scale solutions. We thank IALE North America for recognizing our efforts to advance landscape conservation.” 

Some examples of landscape ecology in the Center’s work include: 

• Developed an innovative habitat connectivity model for the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana that is now being used to inform long-range planning for multiple national forests.  
• Conducted a habitat connectivity analysis for the Pantanal-Chaco region of South America to identify 47 protected and conserved areas that need to stay connected for jaguar movement. 
• Led two highway assessments in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, developing a cutting-edge, data-driven approach to evaluating wildlife movement and recommending measures to mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions and reconnect habitat. 
• Worked with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and its partners to envision the second 100 years of conserving the Appalachian Mountain landscape in creating the Eastern Climate Corridor. 
• Leading the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group and its key role in developing international guidelines for maintaining and restoring connected landscapes. 
• Hosting the Network for Landscape Conservation, community of more than 100 organizations and 2,500 individual landscape conservation practitioners. 

Learn more about our U.S. Program, International Connectivity Program, and the Networks we Host. 

Top photo: Ashville, North Carolina, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the Appalachian Range.

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Roughly 50% of all highway accidents on US 89 north of Yellowstone National Park—between Livingston and Gardiner, Montana—are wildlife related. In response to this growing and dangerous problem, a locally led partnership called Yellowstone Safe Passages (YSP) just took a major step toward finding solutions by completing a comprehensive assessment of wildlife-vehicle collisions on this stretch of highway, conducted by the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and YSP partners.

US 89 extends the length of Paradise Valley and the Gardiner Basin, connecting drivers to Yellowstone National Park. Drivers have hit bison, grizzly bears, elk, deer, moose, and more. These accidents are usually fatal for the animal and pose a serious threat to human safety.

But as Center for Large Landscape Conservation Road Ecologist Liz Fairbank explains, it is more than a major safety issue. 

“Wildlife traverse the entire valley, often having to cross US 89 to reach vital habitat to the east, west, and south, including Yellowstone National Park and vast swaths of national forest on both the east and west sides of the valley,” says Fairbank. “If they can’t move freely, they might miss out on the food and water sources they need to survive, or on finding mates to help sustain their population.”

The Center for Large Landscape Conservation conducted the US 89 Wildlife & Transportation Assessment alongside Montana State University’s Western Transportation Institute and Montana Freshwater Partners. The recently published assessment details the results of the study, and provides recommendations for possible solutions that could reduce the number of animals struck each year, make the highway safer for drivers, maintain wildlife movement, and even restore access to habitat for some species. 

More than 10 years of data from multiple public agencies was provided for analysis in the assessment. In addition, for three years area residents participated as citizen scientists using the ROaDS Tool (Roadkill Observation and Data System) via a smartphone app to record observations of live or dead wildlife along US 89. During that same timespan, a field technician traveled the highway each week to collect additional data and to verify and confirm the observations made by citizen scientists. 

The assessment overlays data on human safety, wildlife mortality from collisions, wildlife movement, and habitat connectivity to identify the most important areas along the highway to consider for mitigation measures. Then these areas were then further evaluated by the researchers and an interagency technical team. The assessment also evaluated all culverts underneath the highway to identify where improvements may be needed for fish passage or to increase the potential of the culverts to serve as safe crossings for small or medium sized species. 

“Overall, the assessment identified seven priority sites and a suite of potential solutions for each one ranging from new wildlife crossings—overpasses and underpasses—to retrofits to existing structures, animal detection systems, and fencing,” says Fairbank. “It outlines options for each site, including some short-term measures as well as longer-term solutions such as large crossing structures combined with fencing that may be eligible for federal funding.” 

The Common Ground Project originally convened Yellowstone Safe Passages in 2019 to bring together citizens who live, work, and play in the Upper Yellowstone Watershed to explore what could be done about the growing problem of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Since its founding, YSP has gathered an impressive cross-section of partners—including public agencies and officials, private foundations and conservation groups, anglers, and local land and business owners—that demonstrates that the community is invested in finding solutions. 

The founding members of YSP include representatives from the Common Ground Project, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, National Parks Conservation Association, and Park County Environmental Council.

The comprehensive assessment and a shorter “Key Findings” document are now available online, and Yellowstone Safe Passages plans to share the results of the assessment with residents of Park County, Montana, via community information sessions in the spring of 2024. 

For more information, visit yellowstonesafepassages.org/highway-assessment 

Funding for the US 89 Wildlife & Transportation Assessment was provided by AMB West Conservation Fund, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and Yellowstone Safe Passages.

_{Top photo: A herd of elk crosses US 89. Credit: Hallie Rugheimer}

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They run. They fly. They swim. Migratory species from elephants to golden eagles to sea turtles cover vast distances and often cross borders to survive. In February 2024, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation joined countries, partners, and experts in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to increase commitments and contributions to conserve migratory wildlife and their habitats around the world. Under the motto “Nature Knows No Borders,” more than 1,000 participants attended the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS/CoP-14), the first to be hosted in a Central Asian country.  

The conference centered around the 133 country “Parties” considering the endangered status and management of specific species—including fourteen new species, subspecies, and populations added to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Appendices—examining country reporting, setting priorities such as targeted conservation plans, and agreeing on a budget for implementing overall aims of the convention. CMS/CoP-14 built on momentum since adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in 2022 and brought additional focus to the vital role that ecological connectivity—which allows wildlife to move more freely—plays in conserving species and habitats across migratory ranges.  

Keeping connectivity a priority 

The Center was proud to prepare and attend as an official NGO Observer to CMS, and to elevate its work in collaboration with the IUCN-WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) and partners promoting and mainstreaming ecological connectivity as a central focus of the convention and its activities. Among the 52 agenda items considered under 25 thematic groups on crosscutting, terrestrial, avian, and aquatic issues, the conference adopted the Samarkand Strategic Plan for 2024-2032 with Goal 2 devoted to maintaining and restoring connectivity. This post summarizes the related activities and outcomes that our leadership and collaboration supported while in Samarkand. 

Launch of the State of the World’s Migratory Species Report 

During a special event on February 12, the first-ever report on the State of the World’s Migratory Species was released by the Convention on Migratory Species. Available in English, French, and Spanish, the 88-page report reviews the status of migratory species and impacts of various threats to their survival. It includes a section on “Promoting ecological connectivity by removing barriers to migration” as a joint contribution of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC) and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation.  

Among the findings, the report details that:

More than one-in-five (22%) CMS-listed species are threatened with extinction.

Nearly all (97%) of CMS-listed fish are threatened with extinction.

The two greatest threats to both CMS-listed and all migratory species are overexploitation and habitat loss due to human activity. 

Connectivity-related side events 

While formal negotiations feature prominently in daily proceedings of a CoP, side events are opportunities for gathering informally to learn about and discuss specific topics and projects. Prior to departing for Samarkand, the Center and partners identified 27 side events addressing ecological connectivity in one way or another.

Foremost, the Center led organization of the side event “New Frontiers for Ecological Connectivity – From Policy to Implementation,” where speakers highlighted efforts around the world  moving ecological connectivity from discourse to implementation. Contributions included an overview of policy developments and presentations from governments and experts highlighting collaborative initiatives, projects, and activities that are advancing connectivity conservation at local to global scales. The event was supported by USAID and the ALIGN Project (Asia’s Linear Infrastructure safeGuarding Nature), and co-organizers included CCSG, CMS, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Climate Chance, and the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF).

Additional contributions by team members from the Center included:

• CEO Gary Tabor presented at the event led by Climate Chance association titled “Ecological Connectivity: An Integrated Opportunity to Address Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, and Desertification”; 
• CEO Gary Tabor also spoke at the event “Asiatic Wild Ass (Kulan): Status, Threats, and Future Conservation Needs” hosted by the IUCN-SSC Equid Specialist Group, co-chaired by Dr. Patricia Moehlman; 
• International Connectivity Program Manager Aaron Laur provided a presentation on “Building the Foundation of Policy and Law for Ecological Connectivity” for an event led by the organization Law of the Wild; and 
• International Connectivity Specialist Gabriel Oppler presented on the work of the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group and its publications, resources, and activities.
   

Special Event: Launch of a new Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity 

The Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC) celebrated its launch at a special event on February 14. GPEC aims to strengthen and facilitate efforts to address key priorities for ecological connectivity, identify and address gaps, scale-up efforts at national-levels, and drive transboundary and international connectivity conservation policies and activities. The launch was attended by approximately 100 people and members of the media, and is summarized in this press release. Initiated by CMS, the partnership is joined by several organizations, including the Center for Large Landscape Conservation as a core partner.

Policy resolutions and decisions to advance ecological connectivity conservation 

Among the many official decisions reached by close of CoP-14, Parties to the convention adopted policies that serve to update and focus efforts for more efficient and effective ecological connectivity conservation. Included among the “In-Session Documents” in English, French, and Spanish, they include:  

• ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY, including enhancement of the definition to “[…] ecological connectivity (hereafter “connectivity”) is the unimpeded movement of species, connection of habitats without hindrance and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth”; 

• IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND MIGRATORY SPECIES, including passages such as asking Parties to include migratory species when revising legal requirements for impact assessment and when generating considerations for screening criteria, including the construction of barriers such as fences and walls when these might be an impediment for ecological connectivity;  

• INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND MIGRATORY SPECIES with passages directed to Parties, the Scientific Council, and the Secretariat including requesting more comprehensive cooperation on specific actions such as identifying existing, planned, and foreseen development; and taking into account ecological connectivity and ecological restoration.”
  
  
• CMS CONTRIBUTION TO THE KUNMING-MONTREAL GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY FRAMEWORK, including supporting and applying the monitoring framework agreed under the CBD for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework including promoting the status of migratory species as measurement of progress towards achieving the ecological connectivity and integrity elements of the framework; 

• SAMARKAND STRATEGIC PLAN FOR MIGRATORY SPECIES 2024-2032, including Goal 2 on “The habitats and ranges of migratory species are maintained and restored, supporting their connectivity”; and Target 3.2. “By 2032, the direct mortality of migratory species caused by human-made infrastructure is significantly reduced to levels that are not harmful to species’ viability.”

• INITIATIVE FOR CENTRAL ASIAN FLYWAY spanning 30 Range States for migratory birds, alongside the establishment of a coordinating unit with financial support from the Indian Government;

• REDUCING THE RISK OF VESSEL STRIKES FOR MARINE MEGAFAUNA including encouraging Parties “to propose core aggregation zones and known migration corridors of vulnerable marine megafauna, where there is a significant risk of vessel strikes,” and

• INITIATIVE FOR THE JAGUAR to develop a comprehensive program of work encompassing all aspects of jaguar conservation, including paragraph 6(e) agreeing to focus on adopting actions that allow and ensure connectivity between Jaguar populations (including the creation and official designation of biological corridors), as well as effective handling of protected areas, indigenous territories, and other effective area-based conservation action;
   

What comes next? 

Although many species-specific and cross-cutting decisions were reached throughout the week, extinction risk levels are rising across CMS-listed species, and climate change and habitat loss continue unabated. These challenges combine with chronic underfunding of the convention and a new budget that does not allow for even modest growth. The implementation of ongoing and new mandates will require strong, combined efforts across governments, organizations, and experts. The Center and our partners look forward to advancing ecological connectivity conservation as an innovative way for CMS and many multilateral environmental agreements to achieve their individual and joint objectives in a more comprehensive, efficient, and effective manner to stop fragmentation, reverse biodiversity loss, and increase resilience to climate change. 

View some photos from our time in Uzbekistan

_{Top Photo: The CLLC team at CMS/CoP-14: Gabriel Oppler, Gary Tabor, and Aaron Laur (Credit: CLLC)}

_{*Global Partnership group photo, left to right: Gabriel Oppler, International Policy & Partnerships Specialist, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Aaron Laur, International Connectivity Program, Policy & Partnerships Manager, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Frances Davis, Senior Programme Officer, UNEP-WCMC; Ingrid Coetzee; Director, Biodiversity, Nature & Health, ICLEI Africa and Global Cities Biodiversity Center; Senator Ronan Dantec, President, Climate Chance Association; Rafael Antelo (Ph.D.) Wildlife Connect Leader and PACHA Coordinator, WWF; Madhu Rao, Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas; Dr Musonda Mumba , Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands; H.E. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan; Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary; Gary Tabor, CEO, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Fernando Spina, CMS COP-appointed Councilor for Ecological Connectivity, Katharine Newman, Vice-President sustainable infrastructure; WWF US. © Anvar Zokirov}

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In the 2023 Annual Report, you can read:

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